Kaonde language

Kaonde (kiiKaonde) is a Bantu language spoken primarily in Zambia but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kaonde and its dialects are spoken and understood by perhaps 350,000 people or more.

Kaonde
Kiikaonde
Native to	Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is predominantly known as Kiluba
Native speakers	(240,000 cited 1995–2010 census)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Southern Bantoid Bantu Luban Luba languages Kaonde
Writing system	Latin (Kaonde alphabet) Kaonde Braille
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Zambia
Language codes
ISO 639-3	kqn
Glottolog	kaon1241
Guthrie code	L.40 (L.41)

Speakers

It is estimated that approximately 2.3% of Zambians are native Kaonde speakers. Kaonde speakers overwhelmingly live in the Northwestern and parts of Central regions of Zambia. Fewer numbers of Kaonde speakers live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, they are not known or identified by the term Kaonde but rather by the term Luba. In Zambia, Kaonde people occupying the following districts: Solwezi,Mufumbwe,Kasempa,Kalumbila and Mushindamo in the North-Western province, and Mumbwa in the Central province. Kaonde villages can also be found in the northern parts of Kaoma District in the Western Province.

Strictly speaking, the term "Kaonde" refers to a group of people who are identified by a common language known as kiiKaonde. This group of people, like many others in Zambia, was originally part of the Luba Kingdom. They migrated south to area surrounding a stream called Kaonde in river Congo Basin. From there, the people migrated into what is now Northwestern Zambia. This group of people called their language kiiKaonde. Speakers of other Bantu languages use the prefix "chi" other than "kii" to refer to this language.

Just like any other tribe in Zambia, Kaondes are ruled by the traditional leaders. The following are the chiefs of the Kaonde people recognised by the government of Zambia: Senior Chief Kapiji Kasongo Kamuyange Mujimanzovu, Senior Chief Kasempa, Chief Kapiji Mpanga, Chief Mumena, Chief Matebo, Chief Ingwe, Chief Mukumbi Kizela, Chief Mushima Mubambe, Chief Mulendema, Chief Mumba, Chief Kaindu, Chief Mukumbi Katotola and Senior Chief Mukumbi Ibaloli ( Originally, Mukumbi Ibaloli is a Lunda)

Grammar

Nouns

Like other Bantu languages, Kaonde nouns are grouped into several semantic classes, ranging from those that denote human beings to those that denote things. The concord or agreement markers for each class is a prefix attached to verbs and adjectives related to the noun. Tense markers may modify the concord.

Singular noun	Singular concord	Plural noun	Plural concord
mu (person)	u-	ba	ba-
mu (thing)	u -	mi-	i-
ki	ki-	bi	bi-
ka	ka-	tu	tu-
n	i-	ma	a-
lu	lu-	ma	a-
bu	bu-	ma	a-
ji	ji-	ma	a-
pa (locative "on")	pa-	none	none
ku (locative "at" or "to")	ku-	none	none
mu (locative "in")	mu-	none	none

Pronouns

Kaonde has personal, demonstrative and relative pronouns. The first and second person pronouns are independent of the noun class system. Third person pronouns are formed using the demonstrative pronouns for the ba noun class. Demonstrative are arranged by noun class and by deixis.

	Singular	Plural/Formal
1st person	amiwa	atweba
2nd person	obewa	anweba
3rd person	awe/ao/awa	abe/abo/aba

Sample text in Kaonde

Mu byambo byanji byalamata bantu bonse, Lesa waambile ne byambo bikwabo pa byo anemeka bumi ne mashi.

Translation

In a declaration applying to all humans, God revealed more about his evaluation of life and blood

External links

• A sample paragraph in Kaonde
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kaonde
• Lubuto Libraries, Kiikaonde Reading Lessons, Lubuto Library Special Collections, accessed May 3, 2014.
• Kiikaonde language stories, Lubuto Library Special Collections
• OLAC resources in and about the Kaonde language